


Uni Days

by lilywafiq



Category: The Doctor Blake Mysteries
Genre: Developing Relationship, F/M, Modern AU, University
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-22
Updated: 2017-12-22
Packaged: 2019-02-18 13:23:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,723
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13101054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilywafiq/pseuds/lilywafiq
Summary: A Lucien/Jean modern day university AU





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> This is written for the 2017 Doctor Blake Mysteries secret santa exchange. This is written for [danadumaurier](http://danadumaurier.tumblr.com/) on tumblr who gave me the ‘college au’ prompt.
> 
> Seeing as I know nothing about American colleges, and Doctor Blake is Australian, I used my own experience at an Australian university as the basis for this story. Though it’s much more interesting than my uni experience ever was, that’s for sure.
> 
> I might come back to this little ‘verse I’ve created, I really enjoyed writing this.
> 
> So, Merry Christmas Franke, I hope you enjoy this story.

Lucien groaned as his alarm clock went off, and pulled his pillow firmly over his head trying to block out the noise. The blasted thing always woke him at the worst possible times, when he was fast asleep, dreaming beautiful dreams about that girl in his biology class...

A harsh, “Oi, turn that fucking thing off!” was accompanied by a shoe hitting his torso. 

Lucien swung an arm towards the alarm, knocking it off his bedside table and succeeding in stopping the sound. He grumpily emerged from beneath his pillow to see his housemate, Matthew, standing in the doorway to his bedroom. 

Lucien looked at the shoe sitting on the bed next to him, and glared up at Matthew. “Why?”

“You would’ve ignored the alarm and gone back to sleep. Now, I need you out of the house so I can go back to sleep.” Matthew turned on his heel and headed back towards his own room. 

Lucien closed his eyes and felt himself drifting off again before opening his eyes abruptly. No, he had to get out of bed. He had a biology lab first up, he couldn’t be late. He pulled himself out of bed, had a quick shower and some breakfast, and hurried across the road to catch the bus. 

 

“I was starting to wonder if I was doing this lab alone,” Lucien’s lab partner said as he arrived outside his biology class. 

“Oh, come on, Alice. Have I ever let you down?” Lucien paused for a brief moment. “Don’t answer that.”

Alice eyed him warily from over her lab manual. 

“Besides, you don’t need my help,” Lucien said, flopping down on the bench next to Alice. “Everyone knows you’re the smartest in the class.”

“Damn straight, I am,” Alice said. “But I shouldn’t have to do the labs alone because my lab partner overslept again.”

“I didn’t oversleep.”

“You haven’t had time to stop for coffee, you don’t seem to have brought your lab manual, and your socks don’t match,” Alice pointed out. 

Lucien looked down at his ankles. “Oh. Well...” He was cut off by the sound of the door to the labs being pushed open, and their lab tutor announcing they could enter. 

Everyone piled into the room and sat down on their stools, chatting about the weekend and other classes. Lucien caught sight of a girl in the front row without a partner and frowned slightly.

“Hey, Jean!” he called across the room. 

She turned and smiled. “Morning, Lucien.”

“Is your partner not coming?”

Jean looked at the empty seat next to her and shrugged. “Haven’t heard from her.”

“Well, you can join Alice and I if you like,” Lucien offered, and Alice just looked at him. 

“I’ll give it a few more minutes,” Jean said, “but if she doesn’t show, that’d be nice, thank you.”  
Lucien smiled and turned to look at Alice, who rolled her eyes.

“What?” he demanded.

“Why haven’t you asked her out yet?” Alice asked. 

“Uh...”

“Lucien, I may not always be aware of social cues, but even I can see you’re into her.” Alice opened her lab manual to the right page, and began preparing for the lab. Lucien, as Alice had observed, didn’t have his lab manual or any other supplies. 

“Can I look off yours?” Lucien asked. 

Alice sighed, and pulled a piece of paper out of her notebook and gave it to Lucien. “You’re writing the results today then.”

“Fair enough.”

Lucien was disappointed when Jean’s lab partner rushed in at the last minute, but he and Alice completed the lab quickly and were out to lunch early. 

 

The rest of the day went quickly, and Lucien found himself dozing in the university library late in the afternoon. The library was open 24 hours during semester and Lucien had accidentally slept overnight there more than once during his time at uni. 

“Lucien?”

Lucien was awaken by a soft voice and a gentle hand on his shoulder. He opened his eyes and looked up to see that it was Jean.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“Me? Yes, of course,” Lucien replied. “Just...napping, I guess.”

Jean chuckled, and sat down in the chair beside him. “I understand. Studying can get a bit tiring.” She pulled out a textbook and a laptop, setting up on the desk. “The music library is the best place for napping, though,” she said. “They’ve got couches and the right sort of subdued atmosphere.”

Lucien watched as Jean opened her textbook and grabbed a highlighter from her bag, frowning slightly at the page before highlighting a few lines. Biology was the only class they shared this semester, and Lucien was disappointed by that. The previous semester they’d done all the same classes, but now, in the latter years of their degrees, their majors were taking them in seperate directions. 

Jean seemed to realise that Lucien was watching her, and looked up to smile at him. Lucien loved that smile. He smiled back, and turned back to his own study, which had been sidetracked by his nap. They worked in silence for an hour, until Jean’s phone chirped. She checked her messages, and then began to pack up.

“Home time?” Lucien asked.

“Yeah. I forgot it was my turn to pick up dinner and my housemate is getting hungry.”

Lucien glanced at his watch and nodded. “Time gets away from you when you’re studying.”

“It does.” Jean finished packing up her things and stood. She stretched out her arms, before picking up her bag and slinging it over her shoulder. “I’ll see you around, Lucien.”

“Good night, Jean.”

Lucien watched her leave, and then mentally kicked himself. Alice was right. He was definitely into Jean. Why couldn’t he just ask her out? Lucien shook his head, and packed up his own things before heading home.

 

“You should have asked her out,” Matthew said later that night when Lucien was talking about his day.

Lucien groaned. “You and Alice both need to lay off me.”

“Alice? Well, she’s super smart, so you should definitely listen to her.”

Lucien was sprawled out on the couch in his and Matthew’s shared living room. Matthew was on a bean bag on the floor, beer in hand, staring at Lucien pointedly. “Believe me, a woman like Jean, if you don’t ask her out soon, someone else will.”

“I know,” Lucien said. “But what if she says no?”

“Then at least you tried. You can move on.” Matthew turned back to the TV. A generic crime show was playing, something both Matthew and Lucien liked to point out the flaws in. Matthew was an aspiring policeman, and Lucien an aspiring doctor, they made a good fit. 

Lucien didn’t pay much attention to the show, instead thinking about Jean. He still remembered the first time he saw her, two years earlier on his first day of university. She’d sat a few rows ahead of him in his introductory chemistry class, and Lucien had been transfixed. He didn’t remember anything of the class, but he remembered everything about Jean. They’d become casual friends since then, but Lucien had been pining after her since day one. 

Lucien grabbed his drink from the coffee table and took a sip. Matthew was right, he needed to ask Jean out. If she said no, he’d have to deal with it. But if she said yes...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [find me on tumblr](http://spacecowboybriony.tumblr.com)


	2. Chapter Two

It took a few more days for Lucien to work up the courage, and by chance he ran into Jean in the line to pay for her lunch. 

“Lucien! How are you?” she asked with a smile as Lucien joined the line behind her.

“I’m good, thanks. And you?”

“Very well, thank you. How was your class this morning, human anatomy was it?” Jean had always taken an interest, but Lucien was always impressed when she remembered what classes he was taking.

“Yes, human anatomy. It was okay, I guess. I know most of it already, so I find I’m not really learning much.” Lucien leant closer and said quietly, “I actually use the time to catch up on some of my other assignments.”

Jean laughed at that, and Lucien smiled. Her laugh was beautiful, just like she was.

Jean got to the front of the line, and paid for her food. “Come sit with me?” she asked.

“Sure,” Lucien replied. He quickly paid for his meal and followed Jean to an empty table. He sat down opposite her, and decided that this was it. Today was the day.

Jean filled Lucien in on her classes while they ate, and he listened, enchanted by her words. He figured she could talk about the weather and he’d still eat it up. 

As they finished up, Lucien collected up their rubbish and Jean stood to take it to the bin. She returned and sat back down. 

“Jean, I have a question,” Lucien said.

“Okay,” Jean replied.

“Would you have dinner with me?” Lucien asked, suddenly very nervous.

Jean blinked a few times. “Like a date?”

“Yes, a date,” Lucien replied, fighting with himself to not look away from Jean’s big blue eyes. There were times when he felt like those eyes could see into his soul.

And then Jean smiled, and Lucien felt some of his nervousness abate.

“I’d love to,” Jean said. “When?”

“Great! When are you free?” Lucien asked, not wanting to be presumptuous. 

“How about tomorrow night?” Jean asked.

“That sounds great,” Lucien replied. “Um, I could pick you up? Or we could meet at a restaurant? Uh...”

“Lucien, you don’t need to be nervous, it’s just me,” Jean said, laying a hand over his. “I’ll let you decide the restaurant, and you can pick me up on your way. How does that sound?”

“Great,” Lucien said.

“Great,” Jean replied. “Now I have to get to class. I’ll see you tomorrow night.” She stood up and smiled.

“Great!” Lucien said again, before rolling his eyes at himself as soon as Jean had turned to leave. He had such a good vocabulary, and yet couldn’t seem to find any better word than ‘great’. But despite that, he had a date with Jean. A date. With Jean. Oh boy.

 

The next day was a bit of a blur for Lucien; he went to class, took notes, did some study, but none of it mattered. At seven pm he arrived at Jean’s house, and knocked on the door. She opened it promptly, and Lucien was breathless looking at her. She was wearing a simple blue dress, it brought out the colour of her eyes wonderfully. She smiled brightly at Lucien and shut the door behind her.

“Hello,” she said.

“Hi,” Lucien managed to say back when he stopped staring. “Uh, shall we?” 

He lead Jean to his car, and opened the passenger side door for her. She laughed at that, but got in so Lucien could close the door for her. He ducked around and got in the driver’s seat, and started the car.

“So where have you decided to take me?” Jean asked as Lucien pulled out of the driveway.

“There’s this lovely Italian place not to far from here,” Lucien replied. “I hope that’s okay?”

“Sounds lovely.”

They made small talk during the drive, and were soon arriving at the restaurant. Lucien parked, and they made their way inside. A waiter lead them to a free table, and Lucien quickly pulled Jean’s chair out for her.

“You’re being very chivalrous today, Lucien,” Jean said as she sat.

“I hope thats not off-putting,” Lucien replied, taking his own seat opposite Jean.

“It’s nice,” Jean said with a shy smile.

The waiter left them some menus, and Jean studied hers intently. 

“What do you suggest?” she eventually asked Lucien, who’d taken a quick glance at his menu before putting it down.

“Can’t beat the traditional spaghetti,” Lucien said. “That’s what I usually get.”

“I’ll get that then.”

They ordered some drinks and their meals, and then there was silence.

“So...” Lucien said.

“Yes.”

“Tell me about yourself, Jean,” Lucien said. “I’ve known you for a while now, but I feel like I know so little about you.”

And that began a wonderful night of discovery and conversation. Lucien discovered that Jean had one sister, loved to knit, and hoped to travel the world once she’d finished her degree. Jean leant that Lucien wanted to study in Edinburgh for his post graduate degree, loved a good whiskey, and was very good at solving puzzles. At some point during the night they ordered dessert, and shared a tiramisu. Eventually they had to leave, and took a walk together down the street. The evening was warm without being too hot, and there was just enough of a breeze to make it comfortable. At some point, Lucien took Jean’s hand, and they continued to walk, fingers intertwined. 

“I’ve had a really nice night,” Jean said when they finally made it back to Lucien’s car.

“So have I,” Lucien said. 

“We should do it again sometime.”

Lucien smiled across the roof of the car at Jean. “I’d like that.”

They got into the car and Lucien drove Jean home. He insisted on walking her to the door, and Jean laughed again, a sound that Lucien was falling in love with. At the door, Jean leant in and kissed Lucien gently on the lips.

“Good night, Lucien.”

“Good night, Jean.”

Lucien watched as Jean entered the house, and she smiled at him as she closed the door. He walked back to his car, a spring in his step.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [find me on tumblr](http://spacecowboybriony.tumblr.com)


	3. Epilogue

After that night, Jean and Lucien were inseparable. No one was surprised to see them together, they just worked well as a couple. They were each other’s perfect fit. It wasn’t unusual to find them having lunch together on campus, or to find Lucien asleep in the library, his head in Jean’s lap as she typed up an assignment. But all things have to come to an end, and Lucien and Jean found themselves graduating at the same time.

“Jean,” Lucien said one morning before they got out of bed.

“Yes, Lucien?” Jean was still waking up, blinking against the harsh light spilling in through the gaps in Lucien’s blinds. She’d tried, unsuccessfully, many times to get the blinds to close properly, but had eventually given up and got used to the light instead.

“You know I’ve been applying to different universities to do my medical degree,” Lucien said. 

Jean nodded. 

“Well, I’ve been accepted to the University of Edinburgh.”

Jean’s face lit up. “Lucien, that’s wonderful news! I’m so proud of you!” She leant and kissed Lucien happily. She pulled back when he didn’t respond as eagerly as usual. “That is good news, right? This is what you’ve wanted for years.”

“I know it is,” Lucien replied. “But I think...”

Jean waited for Lucien to continue.

“Jean, my love, would you consider moving to Edinburgh with me?” Lucien asked quietly, unsure of what Jean would think. They’d been together for a year, but Lucien couldn’t imagine his life without her. And if that meant giving up his dream school to complete his medical degree in Australia, he’d be okay with that. “Otherwise, I can stay. Melbourne has some good medical schools too. I just... I don’t want to leave you.”

“Lucien, that’s a big question. Obviously, I’ll need time to think about it,” Jean said. “But I don’t want you to give up on your dreams for me.”

“Jean, ever since I met you, I think you’ve been my dream.”

Jean blushed, and Lucien leant in to kiss her. 

“Marry me?” he whispered against her lips.

“Lucien!”

“Jean, I love you, you know that. And if this last year has taught me anything, it’s that your dreams can change. When I think about my future, you’re always in it.”

“You’re always in my future thoughts, too,” Jean said.

“Then marry me.”

Jean smiled, that smile that Lucien knew he’d never get tired of. “Okay,” she said. “Yes. I’ll marry you.”

Lucien’s face broke into a huge grin, and he pulled Jean into a crushing hug. She laughed against his chest, and hugged him back just as tight.

Lucien didn’t know what the future held for them, but as long as they faced it together, he knew they’d accomplish anything they wanted.

**Author's Note:**

> [find me on tumblr](http://spacecowboybriony.tumblr.com)


End file.
